Fighting for Something More
by BonesBird
Summary: In the middle of the war, Captains' Archer and Hernandez are struggling through their personal relationship when they are thrown together on a rescue mission. What happens on it changes their lives. (Trek Big Bang challenge entry/Slightly AU from my RW series - mid 2158)
1. Chapter 1

Jonathan Archer hadn't been contacted by command in a few weeks. He and Enterprise had been patrolling, as was their current mission profile, and getting steadily more frustrated by the pedestrian pace the war was taking. He'd been spending a lot of time thinking, not always the best idea really, not for him anyway. He was trying to settle, manage to get himself off to sleep, but he was failing completely. He couldn't think of a reason to stay awake though, especially not when he could be called to the next emergency any minute.

The war was going slowly, and very little of it was ending in Starfleet's favour. He'd seen dozens of ships damaged or destroyed by the Romulan forces, he thought they might have inflicted a similar level of damage on them. But since the Andorians and Tellarites had pulled their forces out, following the withdrawal of the Vulcans a few months earlier, he felt things were going from bad to worse.

He was finally dozing when he heard the sound of the comm, and instead of settling down again he remembered that this was for him. "Captain, there is a call for you from Admiral Gardner"

"Route it down here." He called, pulling a top toward him, fairly certain that the Admiral wasn't going to want to see him shirtless. If he was honest with himself, he hoped the call had been from Erika, but no such luck. "Admiral?" He asked as the screen lit up, something about the way the Admiral was sitting made him think this wasn't a social call.

"Evening, Jonathan. Hope all is well on Enterprise?" The question managed to sound half sincere, Jon was not naive enough to think that Gardner actually cared about the minutiae of life aboard the NX-01, but Gardner was a good enough Admiral to at least ask about it. Either that or it was a quiet way to ask Jon if his head was still in the game. Or maybe Jon was being paranoid, not exactly an uncommon position for him to be in.

"As well as it can be, thank you sir." He tried to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. Erika may claim they didn't get to spend enough time together, but that wasn't stopping her talent for sarcasm from creeping into how he spoke. No Jonathan, stop it. Focus. He chanted to himself, he'd zoned out a little through some inane conversation Gardner seemed to carry on with himself while Jon refocused again. Which was definitely better than it could have been.

Jon just kept nodding politely until Gardner looked up again and seemed to realise that Jon wasn't paying any attention at all to whatever he was talking about. He blinked a few times then took a breath, making Jon worry momentarily what the next works out of his mouth would be."We have a mission for you."

"Yes sir." He replied, breathing out a sigh of silent relief as he did. For a second he'd worried that Gardner might have been calling to tell him something had happened to Erika or Columbia. No matter how things were right this moment he was always going to worry that any call was going to be bad news about her or her ship. It was his biggest fear. With that fear allayed for now he could focus more on what he was supposed to. "What do you need?"

Gardner looked down at his PADD then back up to Jon. "You saw the report on the Kreosans and the captives they are holding for the Romulans?" He asked, leading Jon to just blink at him a few times and wonder if the Admiral was beginning to have issues with his short term memory. That report had come in a week earlier, when Enterprise had still been on Earth. He'd been stood beside Gardner when that report had come in.

"I was there, Admiral. I heard the report the same time you did." He tried not to sound like he was annoyed, trying not to worry all that much. If Gardner was confused, he was confused.

"Of course, it was Captain Hernandez who was out." Gardner said, and Jon felt a stone drop to the bottom of his stomach. Was their old friend aware of the personal issues the two ship commanders had been having recently? Probably not. Jon wasn't certain that he and Erika even knew what issues they'd been having. Two people loving one another but only seeing each other sporadically was giving the problems. He shook it off though, that wasn't what any of this was about. It was simple coincidence, maybe Gardner needed to brief Erika on this situation too

"What about the Kreosans?" Jon asked, trying to get to the point of this conversation. It worried him that Gardner was avoiding the conversation. Either that or it was obvious that he was avoiding giving Jon the mission profile. Maybe because it was about

"We want to get our people back, Jon. For obvious reasons. We're sending you out there, with admiral Jacoby." That was news. When was the last time an Admiral was sent out on a mission. Generally they would negotiate from headquarters and the Captains would be the ones on the front. Obviously something was different.

His mind was spinning all number of possible reasons why Jacoby would be being sent along to the planet, or how they were going to get him there. That would be another week out of the way to go back to Earth to pick someone up. He was sure that he'd be informed of the plans in due time. "Jacoby, sir?"

Gardner didn't seem to completely understand the question. "He's going to try and negotiate for their release. But one way or another, you'll be returning with them." That was an interesting statement. What if Jacoby wasn't successful in his negotiating, and the Kreosans didn't want to give up their bargaining chips with the Romulans.

"You want us to stage a rescue mission?" He asked, needing to know for certain. Wanting to know where the boundaries were for this mission.

"Yes. I'm sending Columbia along with you." Gardner said, and Jon felt his face fall as he did.

"That's not necessary." Jon shook his head, he could handle this on his own, and he really didn't want to have to have this situation. It was a simple rescue mission, _Enterprise_ had handled dozens of these on it's own.

Gardner glared at him, and Jon realised exactly how little Gardner cared about his situation. It only mattered about their work. "I'll decide what's necessary, Jon, and I'm sending Columbia. Is there something wrong with that?" Gardner's question gave Jon an awkward moment where he had to decide what to say, but it wasn't going to matter either way. The admiral had made his choice.

"No, sir." He mumbled, trying not to sound like a petulant child. He probably wasn't successful.

Gardner nodded, seemingly placated by what he had said about them working together fine. It was obvious, as well, that Gardner didn't really care if the two were having problems, providing it didn't interfere with their work. "Good, because Jacoby is aboard her. I'll get Captain Hernandez to contact you when we're done."

"Well. Shit." Jon muttered and looked at Porthos. The dog wasn't as helpful as Jon had hoped he would be, in fact he'd looked up almost as judgmentally as Jon could imagine the admiral would have been, or any of his friends had they seen him right now.

He gave up thinking seriously, and collapsed back into the bed, deciding that it was probably just best that he lay down and go to sleep. He was going to need it for the next few days, considering how tiring it was likely to be and how much time he was going to be spending awake, planning. He turned his mind off, deciding that over-thinking this was worse than anything else, and drifted into the black.

"Captain, there's a call from Captain Hernandez for you." Was the next call that woke him up. This one was the one that he'd been waiting for, but one that he was also a little afraid about getting too. The problems needed to be spoken about soon.

"Thanks, Hoshi. Pass it down here." He wondered whether he should try putting a shirt on, but he was just going to go back to bed, and this wasn't an admiral or someone he needed to impress, so just answering the call seemed more important and he slipped into the chair and tried to smile as Erika's face filled the screen. She didn't seem impressed. "Good morning Erika."

"I was told to contact you, to arrange a plan." Well, so much for small talk. It was clear their last conversation was still on her mind. Probably not all that unsurprising considering how adversarial it had been. He took a breath and followed her lead, obviously she wanted to keep it professional. That he could do.

"Where's _Columbia_ at the moment?" He asked.

"Proxima colony." She replied, and her face softened a little, maybe she just wanted to show him that he couldn't expect her to go easy on him right now. He took a breath and tried to focus on the moment, rather than thinking about the things he needed to say, they could wait.

So he focused on his mental map, and tried to figure out how far Proxima was from everywhere they were. It was harder than he expected. "That's three days away from Kreosa?"

"Roughly, where are you?" She returned the question, but it was obvious she was doing the same as him, mentally mapping their surrounding areas.

"In the middle of nowhere. About four days away from Kreosa, another two from Proxima." He said, already trying to make a plan. He hadn't really been given the most amount of information on what he needed to do.

Erika started thinking for a few seconds, and Jon was happy enough to watch her thinking. "We should try and meet in the Trialas system, it's where both our flight paths meet and we can arrive together, kind of like a show of force?" Her suggestion was a good one, a really good one. Actually a lot better than his thought which had been Enterprise detouring to Proxima. Which was two days out of their way. Why hadn't he considered it?

"That's a good plan." He looked at her again and tried not to worry about the situation. Maybe he should just say something. This was the first time they were going to be working together in the last few weeks. "This isn't going to be awkward, is it?"

"Why should it be Jon? You made your position very clear." She complained and shook her head, looking at him through the screen with a combination of annoyance and sadness.

That wasn't anything at all how it had been, and he was almost certain that he couldn't convince her, but at least he had to try. It wasn't that he didn't love her, just that he was afraid that they were going to regret it at some point, pushing forward at this time. "Erika that wasn't what I-"

She cut him off, and it was obvious she wasn't in the mood to listen. Not yet at least. "We're professionals. Is that all Commodore?" She looked at him seriously and he knew he'd hit the wall. She wasn't going to break and she almost certainly wasn't going to listen, so he'd just wait, and speak to her in person.

"I guess. I'll see you in 3 days then." He ended the call and looked back to Porthos, who at least treated him the same no matter his rank. "Well, I guess she really is mad at me then." He muttered as the dog jumped into his lap. It wasn't really fair that he was annoyed with her for being mad, he did deserve it he had been being an ass recently, particularly since his promotion. Maybe after this mission they'd both get chance to talk, they needed it, and he'd be able to convince her that nothing was going to change, no matter their ranks.


	2. Chapter 2

Erika Hernandez didn't normally like to wait anywhere on the ship alone, but somehow this felt like it was better done alone. At least on her end. She couldn't speak for Jon, which was a first. In all the years they'd known each other she'd always prided herself on being able to figure out what Jonathan Archer wanted, what he was thinking, what he was doing. Recently though she hadn't been sure. Had they finally reached a point where they'd both changed too much? She didn't think so because she still felt the same for him as she always had. She was just angry at him, and had been for longer than she thought.

She wasn't really sure exactly how she felt, nor how she was going to feel when she saw him. She took a breath as the airlock made the sound that told her there was an airtight seal. She took another breath as she waited for him to come over. She was very glad to see that he hadn't brought his senior officers with him. Clearly they had both had the same thought, it was the only break alone they might get until the end of the mission. "You didn't bring your staff?" She said by way of greeting, rather than something overt.

He just looked at her for a moment and she felt the strain between them. Trying to figure out where the line was. "Neither did you. What's going on Erika?" She knew there was more to that question than the obvious. They both knew that, neither one of them were stupid. Jon was actually really clever in the way he'd phrased the question, and she resented the hell out of that.

"You know what's going on, Jonathan." She said with a shake of her head, hoping she addressed the professional reason they were there. She needed to address them as well. "As for us, let's just leave it until the end of this mission. Then we'll talk."

"Erika. Come on." Jon moaned slightly. She was about to start laughing, but she was still too mad at him to allow him to make her laugh and maybe she needed to tell him that.

"Jonathan, I love you but for the last few weeks I have been so mad at you I don't really want to speak to you because you were being an asshole." He seemed to brighten up a little when she made it clear she still loved him and it was true. She just didn't want to think about it now but it was harder to avoid now he was right here. "Right now we're here because of work, because the Admiral has ordered us to work together."

He looked down and shook his head slightly with just a small smirk, and all Erika could do was narrow her eyes in his direction. At least until he spoke, still with a little bit of a laugh in his voice. "You're doing really well at staying mad at me." He looked at her with one of his puppy looks.

"I've not had a reason to stop. So now you have to decide can you separate our personal and our professional relationship enough to do this." She glared at him, the question wasn't really a question, it was a challenge. One she knew they would both push until they found a balance.

"Of course I can, I have before. So how about we do that. Tell me about Admiral Jacoby, I've never come across him before." It was rare Jon admitted he didn't know someone, or something for that matter. He had always liked to bullshit his way through meetings, even when Erika could see straight through him. He still did it.

As for Jacoby. There weren't many words to describe him. He'd originally been on _Columbia_ to negotiate a land dispute on Proxima, which he'd done successfully the day before the call to join _Enterprise_ had come. "He's a bit of a strange one. He's not as bossy as Sam is, or Forrest was. But he's sweet, and I can see how he'd work with the Kreosans."

"Have you dealt with the Kreosans before?" The question seemed a little redundant, considering she was certain Jon would have received the file on them. Whether he'd read it or not was another question though.

She nodded slowly, she'd been the one who had made contact with them. Sometimes Jon forgot he wasn't the only one seeking new civilisations as part of his actual job title. "I made first contact a year ago. They are close with the Romulans though, definitely not a species we could ever count as allies."

"I guess that's why the Romulans gave our officers to them for safe keeping. Do you think Jacoby will be successful?" Jon asked the million dollar question. Could Jacoby convince the Kreosans to let their officers go. Jacoby was an interesting person, one Erika hadn't had much reason to think about, and while she was certain he was a fantastic negotiator when it came to soil and produce, she wasn't sure about his credentials for bartering for people, living breathing people. While the Kreosans would no doubt like his style, they wouldn't let the officers go, not willingly.

"Do I hell. I've been working on a rescue plan since our last conversation. I haven't got a good one though, have you?" She asked, rescue plans were not her forte, and the last rescue plan Jonathan had come up with he'd been rescuing her from the Orions a little over 18-months ago. Not a pleasant memory for her.

"No. Not yet at least. We've always been good at planning these things together." There was more than a hint of mischief at the end of that sentence, but she wasn't sure whether it bothered her or not, but she knew she needed to shut it down.

She shook head before he could say anything more. "Jonathan."

"Don't read too much into it Rike, just talk to me, we'll just plan what we need to do. We could probably do to meet with the Admiral to, find out his plan of attack." Jon reasoned, and it made sense. She was momentarily thrown off by his use of the endearment he used for her, she'd forgotten how much she'd missed hearing it.

She narrowed her eyes slightly, but she kept the professional tone as best she could. "Want to come and say hello now, we're about to serve dinner on Columbia. We're a couple hours ahead of you. I get it might be early for you to eat though."

Jon obviously took notice of her tone, and his lips thinned to just barely a line. He watched her a few seconds, and she did her best to continue glowering at him. "You really are pissed at me." He sighed, and she didn't really feel like that was an appropriate response. She would have prefered something along the lines of 'I'm sorry I'm an idiot.'

"Until you give me a reason not to be Jonathan. Come on." She started walking in the direction of the mess hall, almost certain Jacoby would meet them there eventually.

"Fine, you win." He conceded, for the moment at least. It wasn't going to last, she knew that. He was persistent when he wanted to be, especially on something he'd decided he wanted. She'd make him see eventually. For now though, she needed to try and break the tension, if she didn't this mission was going to fail, and one or the other of them would end up on disciplinary for it.

"Stop looking at my ass Jonathan." She commented, knowing exactly what he did when he lagged behind like that. He'd done it as long as they'd known each other, and he probably thought she'd never noticed. It was something familiar, something calming.

As she looked over her shoulder he adopted an innocent smile. It didn't fool her for even a second. "I was not doing such a thing, would I?"

"Only all the time since we met." She smiled as he caught up with her, and they stopped walking for a moment, at the same time. It wasn't surprising that they were completely in sync again. "Jonathan, we're on a mission."

Erika felt herself drifting closer to him, his smile making her act irrationally just as it always had. She could still be mad at him and be glad to see him, couldn't she? She was all ready to kiss him, to remind him why they had always worked so well together and didn't need to add anything when there was a cough behind her, and they both jumped apart slightly. "Am I interrupting something, Captains?"

Erika turned and smiled at the admiral, hoping they hadn't looked completely ridiculous. "Of course not Admiral, Captain Archer was just telling me about his appreciation of certain things."

"Right, are you joining us for dinner, Captain Archer?" Jacoby asked, the same question Erika had posed not that long earlier.

"I am, Captain Hernandez used her many, many talents to convince me to join you. To discuss tactics for meeting the Kreosans." Jonathan smiled, and it was obvious that he knew the effect it would have on Erika. The fact was they were going to be talking about the mission didn't seem to be bothering Jon when it came to teasing her, so she tried to ignore it.

"Of course. I'll lead the way." Admiral Jacoby's smile was bigger than either Jon or Erika's sarcastic ones, the only difference between their smiles and the admirals was the inherent sarcasm.

"You're an asshole." Erika muttered as the Admiral continued ahead of them. She tried not to reach for his hand, and managed it, but after a few seconds his hand ended up in the small of her back as it almost did when they walked together.

"You started this, my love, I'm just playing fair." He gave her a shit-eating grin and she had to grit her teeth for a few seconds before replying to him, purely to stop herself from attempting to kill him with her words.

"This isn't stopping me from being mad at you. I'm really, really mad at you." Maybe that was an exaggeration, if she was that mad at him they would have ended whatever it was between the two of them, but that was the last thing either of them wanted.

Jon just grinned, and that annoyed her a little more than it normally would have done. She was just not ready to forgive him, even if she could understand what he'd been saying, she would even admit he made sense, she didn't want to admit that, not yet. "You're less mad at me than you were an hour ago, it's an improvement."

"You're still an asshole. I'll try and think of something else to annoy you with." She made that threat, and it was a threat. She would find something. There were probably dozens of little things she could do that would drive him to distraction. She would just have to think.

"Erika, just admit that I'm right about it and-" He started, and she could have killed him. This was not the time to be bringing it up. Especially when she was sure he was wrong. Not because what he was suggesting was a bad idea, it wasn't, it actually made perfect sense.

"Are you two joining me?" Admiral Jacoby looked around the doorway at the two of them, clearly unaware of their personal relationship. She didn't have the inclination to inform him at this moment either.

She took a breath and held a hand up in the direction of the Admiral who was still leaning around the door. "We'll be just a minute, admiral." She smiled as he leant back around the door then looked up to Jon, taking a deep breath as she did. "Jonathan, we'll talk about this after the mission, then we'll know where we're going."

"Fine. I'll listen to you. Lets put it off. You win." Jon dropped his chin to his chest in a show of defeat, and she reached out for his hands, giving them a quick squeeze. They would talk.

"I know I do. Come on." She smiled and couldn't resist getting on her tiptoes and kissing his cheek. She'd expected her anger to intensify when she saw him, but the opposite had happened. She still knew they needed to put the mission first, but maybe knowing they could talk after the mission was helping her focus. She knew it was coming, and that they would be able to sort something out. How they felt about each other had clearly not changed. Now she had to worry about those 4 officers being held. She knew how that could be, and she worried for them all. Being held captive still gave her horrific nightmares and flashbacks. Maybe that was the reason they'd been assigned together for this mission. It made sense, they'd been here before.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day was spent travelling to Kreosa, and the two ships separated a little outside of the Kreosan sensor net, hoping that their presences hadn't been connected. He thought he and Erika had made good progress over the last day, and they'd definitely be able to get through this mission before anything particularly terrible would happen. At least that was the plan, but things rarely went according to plan. 24 years in Starfleet had proven that to him.

As soon as they were in orbit Malcolm managed to knock out their defensive satellites, just knocking them offline so as to not permanently hamper the defenses of the planet, especially if the Romulans had decided or decided at some point in the future that the Kreosans were subjects in their empire.

After Malcolm took out the satellites it was only seconds before Hoshi was telling him that there was a hail from the surface. Jon jumped down the steps to the situation room, being joined by T'Pol and the Admiral, who hung back a little, all part of their carefully discussed game plan. As the Kreosan appeared on the screen Jon did a double take. The Alien had a face wider than it was long, with wide set eyes and vertical nostrils set between the eyes. The mouth was on the very bottom of their face, and seemed to be stretched much like the rest of the face. They were the most alien aliens he'd met, and he had no idea if they had genders, best to err on the side of caution. "I thought you were here to negotiate?" They demanded, briefly flushing red as they did.

"We are." Jon replied, trying to look as open and honest as he could, they had known that disabling the satellites might not have been the most helpful first move, but it had also been necessary.

"Why did you disable our satellites?"

"I don't appreciate people aiming weapons at my ship, I have the authority to ensure my protection." That was true, and was half of the reason they'd done it, he wasn't going to say the other reason though, for obvious reasons.

"I'm Minister Lillirc. You want your people." It wasn't a question, that was obvious, but it wasn't quite a definitive statement either. Jon wondered how much wiggle-room there was in this situation.

There wasn't going to be any harm in finding out, surely. "Yes."

"You can't have them." They snapped, but the small quiver of uncertainty was still there in their voice. Jon still could make his mind up on whether the minister was male or female, but decided it didn't matter either way.

"Why not, minister?" T'Pol said, the first time she'd spoken since they'd taken the places. The decision not to have this conversation on the main viewer was looking wiser every second they spent talking.

The minister shook their head as if the question T'Pol had asked was the most ridiculous one they'd ever been asked. "They are prisoners of war."

"What war? As far as I'm aware Earth and Kreosa are not at war, they aren't even necessarily unfriendly." He commented, and it seemed he'd said the right thing, if the reaction of the person on the screen said anything.

"What can you offer us." The Kreosan minister asked, and the Admiral stepped forward, introducing himself and clearly taking over from Jon, which he was grateful for. No matter the amount of training Starfleet put her Captains through, negotiating for the release of hostages was not something they'd ever covered.

Jon nodded to the Admiral, leaving him and T'Pol to the negotiations in the situation room, he still had a ship to run. He walked around the bridge slowly, getting reports from every station, everyone was talking quietly so as to attempt to hear what was going on in the rest of the room.

"How are things going with the other thing." He asked, his clever code for asking Hoshi how _Columbia_ was doing and if they were ready to come at a moment's notice. He and Erika had worked out an ingeniously simple way of communicating that would only be detectable if someone was looking for it. Shortwave pulses with a colour embedded.

Hoshi leant forward and checked her instruments, clearly getting the answer she'd expected and they had all hoped for. "They are where we expected them to be, signalling every 30 seconds. All green."

"We might need them soon. Signal them to amber. We're not at red yet." He wanted them to be ready, but he also didn't want to start too quickly. There were a lot of issues that were to be hammered out, and that was even if the diplomatic solution didn't come.

"How will I know we're at red?"

He just smiled at the questions, and reminded himself that not everyone was the Captain, and he still needed to lead, despite the years of serving together. "I'll tell you, but you'll know too. It's generally when people start shooting at us." He teased, watching Hoshi roll her eyes at him and shook his head gently.

"Jacoby's not doing well, is he?" Travis asked quietly, they could all hear the conversation that was going on in the situation room at the back of the bridge, and they all knew what it could mean.

"We didn't expect him too, right now he just has to talk them into agreeing to meet with some representatives, which are going to be him, T'Pol and Commander el-Rashad from _Columbia_. That's the cover for bringing Columbia here without a red signal."

"So why are we going to amber now?" Hoshi asked, clearly transmitting the code but not sure as to why he had ordered it already. He couldn't blame her for her confusion, some parts of the plan he and Erika had worked out quite likely wouldn't makes sense to anyone but the two of them.

"Because Jacoby is talking to them." Jon grinned as he looked to Hoshi and couldn't help his laugh despite the seriousness of the situation. He was certain that they were going to need Columbia before long, and they might as well all be on alert.

A few hours passed, Jacoby's negotiation style proving to be more persuasive than they'd given him credit for, and eventually the hour for the emergency signal passed so _Columbia_ arrived at a leisurely pace. The two ships hanging together around the greeny planet of Kreosa, waiting until night had fallen in what was their capital city to dock and begin planning the next moves. He was contacted when Erika was on her way up to see him, he decided against calling the Admiral to meet with them, feeling that it might be best he have some plausible denialbility about their rescue plan just in case things didn't go as planned.

"Jacoby did well." Erika announced as she walked through his ready room doors and made herself comfortable on her favourite chairs beside the desk. The desk was littered with the plans and things the two of them needed to review before signing off on any rescue mission. The were both tired, and even now Jon could feel Erika's annoyance at him radiating off her in waves.

But she was right, Jacoby had done well. They'd agreed to all of his suggestions, including coming aboard _Enterprise_ to discuss the situation. Jon was hopeful there could be a diplomatic answer yet. "He did. Got further with them on the comm than I expected. I'm tempted to let him have a day to talk. See where he gets."

"Do we really have the time for that Jon?" Erika asked, and one look at her told him she was deadly serious. Something about that chilled his heart.

He was a little surprised by her reaction until he thought about it seriously. This was the one situation where nobody could count on Erika's emotional detachment,mostly because it didn't exist. "Shouldn't we at least reach for a diplomatic solution before we go storming in there guns blazing." The last thing he really wanted was a firefight.

"Would you have waited for a 'diplomatic solution' 2 years ago when it was me in that cell?" She asked softly. Looking at him with sad eyes. They both knew that there was no diplomatic option then, and she'd been so close to death. He took a breath, remembering that moment was never good for him. It was the day he'd realised he might lose her one day.

"That was different." He replied, raising his voice to be heard over her mumbling. To say it was just the two of them in his ready room you would have been forgiven for think he was having a party, the noise Erika could make when she was annoyed or upset.

"How was it different? It's exactly the same. Starfleet officers held by a hostile force. The only difference is you're not sleeping with one of them." She reasoned, but she left out a lot of important parts. He was also more than a little offended at her insinuation that their relationship mattered in the rescue of these officers. The opposite was true, their relationship was the last thing that mattered

"Do you really think my relationship with you is why I'm approaching this differently? It's not the same, Erika, and you damned well know it." He snapped at her, for the first time he could remember she had pushed him too far. There were not that many similarities in the situation, and what he did at Rigel was not going to be what he did here. "We didn't even know where you were until you'd been missing for more than 5 days. We got to you just in time and then I sat next to you and watched as you almost died." He would have given everything he had in that moment to hold her, to remind her that she'd survived, they'd both survived. It was there as the worst week of his life, and that was how it would remain, forever. "I don't want that for anyone else, I don't want anyone else to sit by their spouse and go through what I went through that week, and in the months that followed." Erika was physically healed within a few months, though the doctors still checked on her when they could, but her mental scars were still there. He knew she still had flashbacks and nightmares. He was there for some of them, able to wrap his arms around her and tell her that she's OK. It hurt him that she still suffered. But things were different, and she needed to see that. "But this time we have the information, it's been a week since they were taken and we know they are being treated well. We have the time to give Jacoby a chance."

"Jonathan, you weren't the one there. I don't care that they are being treated well. That can change in a second and they can be as beaten and broken as I was on that floor." She snapped, and he almost felt the anger, pain and trauma that Erika threw out with those words. No, he hadn't been there, but he'd seen what had been done to her. He saw the scars even now when they laid together to sleep. Scars that they both knew would never go away. They might fade, but they wouldn't go, they were always going to have to deal with the consequences of that week.

There was something positive he could focus on there, and maybe even build on it. "But we saved you, Erika, and we'll save them too. Let's give Jacoby a chance. A short one, just the next 24 hours, and if nothing comes of it we go. It also gives us 24 hours to plan. Let's use it wisely." If he could get her to agree to 24 hours he was certain they could do something to avoid more bloodshed. Anything. After glaring at each other a few minutes Jon managed to win, and Erika just looked away from him, clearly still in disagreement, but giving him a chance.

They lapsed into silence as they both began studying the mountain of PADDs all around them. It wasn't the comfortable silence he was used too, there was something unsaid just between the surface, and he was certain they could both feel it, if Erika's occasional glances over at him were anything to go by . They were still avoiding looking at each other even as they passed PADDs between each other and both got up to get drinks. The time stretched out ahead of them and the awkward silence continued. He was about to say something, anything, to break the silence when he finally made contact with her eyes. "Jon." She said, with a tone that told him maybe she'd forgiven him a little more.

"Yeah?" He replied and hoped that she wasn't just going to blow him off now, say something that meant nothing just to try and release the tension in the room.

He was quite surprised when she leant over the table and kissed him gently. The first move toward forgiving him she'd made in weeks. Why now, he didn't quite understand. She just smiled gently then sat back again, pulling her pile off PADDs with her. "I never said thank you for that, all of that."

"You never needed to. Now, who do you think is best on this team?" He turned back to the stack of PADDs in front of him and smiled slightly to himself. Not because of the situation, he hated why they were here and he really hated reliving the worst fortnight of his life, but there was hope and for the first time in a long time he was going to cling to that hope.


	4. Chapter 4

**Yes I forgot to update. I'm sorry. Ooops.**

**Shin xx**

* * *

It had been 18 hours since the Kreosan ambassador and his delegation had come aboard Enterprise and begun working with Jacoby and his team. While neither T'Pol nor Kalil had much diplomatic experience, both had known enough to help Jacoby, and both knew enough that the annoyance on Kalil's face when they came to join the two Captain's didn't look promising. Jon didn't need to ask anything before Kalil looked directly at Erika and shrugged before shaking his head. "It's not going to work." He sighed after a few seconds, causing both Jon and Erika to drop their heads to their hands.

But, with Kalil's relative inexperience with these situations, was he really reading it right. "You can't possibly know that." Jon commented, and even before Erika could look up he'd been interrupted by both of the Commander's in the room. It ended up that T'Pol spoke the loudest, for the first time, and maybe hearing from his own officer would help.

"I do not wish to disagree with you Captain, but I believe the commander is correct. It is not going to work."

Erika was the first to speak after T'Pol's declaration, which was something Jon was very pleased about. He didn't want to have to ask, but he needed to know too. "Explain, T'Pol?"

"I believe that the Kreosans may be doing exactly what we are doing. Stalling for time." The saying out of T'Pol's mouth seemed more sinister and foreboding than usual, and it didn't surprise him entirely that everyone all around was stalling for time. They needed it, probably for different reasons. If he was a member of the Kreosan government, he'd be holding out hoping that the Romulans decided to pay a visit sometime soon.

Apparently, Erika's mind was going in a similar direction. They shared a significant look before Erika turned back to T'Pol, taking over the meeting more, and leaving Jon to think over the answers. It was a tradition older than either of their ships, and it worked. "You think they are trying to trap us?"

"Yes." She stated matter-of-factly, there was no doubt in her voice whatsoever, which worried Jon all the more.

"Kalil?" Erika prompted, and _Columbia_'s science officer stopped long enough to think. This answer could well dictate what both ships would be planning for for the next several days, and Jon could understand Kalil not wanting to get it wrong. In this situation, there wasn't really a 'wrong' there was just the difference between prepared and not.

"I think she's right." He paused again, deciding on words or gathering his thoughts. Jon didn't know for sure, and instead just looked to Erika and shrugged slightly, then looked back to Kalil. "There is something too casual about how they brushed off the Romulan threat, and also in what they are willing to accept in return. Or at least what they are claiming so far."

"What do you think?" He asked Erika, who just met his gaze and nodded a little. The two of them had always been able to have an entire conversation without speaking, and that was helpful in these situations. He knew immediately what Erika would say, and that was that they needed to make a plan of attack now, while the Kreosans still thought they were negotiating. He wasn't necessarily behind that idea, but he also knew it was the best one. "You're right." He muttered, quietly enough that only Erika would hear him.

Sure enough, Kalil blinked a couple of times, clearly noticing the Captain had spoken but he hadn't heard it. "Captain, I'm sorry I didn't hear what you said."

"You're dismissed. Captain Hernandez and I need to plan an offensive." He waved his hand in their direction, and noticed Erika nodding to Kalil. He understood why too, she was Kalil's CO, not him. That was sometimes easy to forget when they were all together.

Once they were alone again Erika propelled herself up and started pacing around the mess, Jon just sat back and watched her, letting all the information roll over in his mind as he did. The current way of processing was opposite their usual styles, but it was working for the moment. He just kept watching Erika, smiling as she stopped to think and then continued. Every time she stopped he made another conclusion and decided that what they had been discussing was needed.

"You agree?" Erika asked him, looking back and sighing. She obviously needed to know that he agreed with the situation as it had been described to them. He stood up enough to pull Erika back to the table they'd been sitting at, almost certain that it was going to be harder than he expected to settle her at the moment.

"That T'Pol and Kalil may have a valid observation and the Kreosans may just be waiting here for the Romulans to show up and kick us in the butt?" He summarised with a question, wanting to make sure that they had read it the same too. Erika's nod and then her continued pacing told him that he'd hit the nail on the head.

"Two of the best ships in Starfleet, caught at rest. I'd recommend a partial tactical alert until further notice. Just to protect us, and make sure that neither _Enterprise_ nor _Columbia_ is 100% at rest at any time." He nodded, standing up himself now and just leaning on the edge of the table, trying to follow Erika was a lot easier when he could guess her path. He was getting pretty good at it until she stopped completely then looked at him and shrugged. "As for the rest, I have no idea."

"We need to go get them." He stated plainly. There wasn't really a question about that, since that was exactly what their mission was.

Erika stayed rooted to the spot and just glared at him, making it obvious she was not amused at his comment. "I know that. Of course I know that. How is the problem. It's not the easiest place to attempt to infiltrate." He remembered the scans that showed the compound was pretty tight, he didn't remember the details, but he was sure that Erika would have had the forethought to bring the plans with her. "We've been studying them. There are energy shields around them, similar to Malcolm's forcefield but far more stable."

"How do we drop those?" He asked, smiling as she handed him the PADD she'd been looking at and picked up another from the table, settling on the one opposite him. The both fell silent, looking over the plans. He couldn't see a clear path to what they needed to do.

"Disrupt power, maybe. That might help." Erika threw out, but he could tell from the tone of her voice that she didn't really believe that was the best idea. The town was close enough to the compound that any kind of strike would probably have civilian casualties.

"It could also inconvenience a lot of innocents and make them defenceless if the Romulans do attack." The Romulans were a bit of an afterthought, but he also knew they were going to need their shields when they showed up and there were no prisoners any longer.

Erika it seemed wasn't thinking at all about the Romulans. She was focusing on their missions, which was helpful, considering he kept being distracted by his thoughts and a worry of a possible Romulan attack. Erika turned her PADD round and showed him where she'd highlighted. "So just disrupt power to the cells then. Can you bring up a display of the cell compound plans?" She pointed to the table, and he found one of the larger PADDs that had a bigger display on it. Then he settled beside her against the table.

"Sure. Is that all you need?" He asked, a sarcastic smirk breaking through, even though it was obvious Erika was completely focused on what she was doing.

"Perfect. Look at this. There is a small access junction there. Probably an air duct. We could get through there." He looked at what she'd highlighted, and he shook his head. The space she'd pointed out was smaller than some of the air vents on the NX ships. He wasn't sure who could get through it.

"It's tiny. I couldn't get through there."

Erika patted his cheek and shook her head with a chuckle. "Jonathan I'm 8 inches shorter and god knows how much lighter than you. I could get through that. There are some pretty tiny members of our crews too. Ensign Sato on yours, for instance. I think she's actually smaller than me, and Crewman Lang on mine. I could make a team out of people who would fit." Erika smiled, and he thought it through, thinking of all the smaller members of the ship crews who could go with her. She had a point and this might be their only plan.

"OK. You get a team together. What then?" He asked, genuinely interested in her plan, it seemed she'd thought it through now.

Erika looked off into the distance, clearly thinking again, but he could tell she knew what was needed. He could probably guess where she was going next. "We get into the control centre and drop the fields around the prisoners. That's where another team would come in, lead by you or Veronica or T'Pol or whoever we decide is leading it can get in and get the hostages, my team get out and come to help if we can. Getting us all back to the beam in point before they even realise what went on."

He paused and thought it all through, beginning to end, and realised that actually this was one of the best rescue plans he'd heard, and it certainly beat out any of the ones he'd been tossing around in his mind. "That's a really good plan actually. How do you come up with these things so quickly?" He was mostly teasing, he already knew that Erika could change things around in a second if she wanted too.

Erika took it that way, and least, and slipped her free hand on top of his with a grin. "I'm a tactical genius, didn't you know?"

"Veronica is going to hate the idea of you leading one of these teams. She'll want you on the ship." He could already hear the argument the two women were going to have about it. Erika didn't have the best track record when it came to away missions, and while he could admit to himself that there was nobody better to run the team, he still wasn't sure he could tell her that.

"There is nobody else of command level small enough for this team. Are you sure it's her who hates it or you?" Erika saw right through his ploy, but really how couldn't she? He hadn't been all that subtle, but the truth was Veronica would be unhappy with it too.

"Can't we both. Veronica is the one who has the genuine reason, though." He could admit that too.

Erika shook her head then stood up properly, giving his hand a final squeeze before pushing herself away from the table. "Don't pretend you won't be leading the other team. You'll want to be down here in the thick of it. I know you Jonathan Archer. Better than you know yourself. Do we have a plan?" She asked, clearly ready to get into action.

"We have a plan. I guess it's time we present it to our officers?" He muttered, wanting more than anything to prolong this moment, but he couldn't, and he wouldn't know how to if he could.

He sighed as she turned away, already in Captain mode, and getting ready to end this. "Yeah, we should. Tell Ensign Sato I'll contact her in an hour or so to organise."

"I will." He smiled as Erika headed to the door. He didn't really want to end the meeting there. It felt incomplete, and he felt like and ass. "Rike. That was a really good plan." He called. She stopped on the threshold and turned to him, studying him for a second in the worrying way that always made him feel like she was reading his mind. He just kept smiling, and almost laughed when she just gave him a little wave and walked out the door. They still hadn't figured anything out, but the mission came first. And she didn't seem to want to kill him so much any more, that was definitely an improvement.


	5. Chapter 5

It hadn't been as hard to get into the compound as Erika had thought it would have been. The section of wall that had held the chute they'd decided to use had been abandoned, it looked like is was unused and forgotten, but it was big enough for the 4 officers Erika had picked to come along with her. All were experts in what they did, and all were roughly her size or smaller.

Once they'd made it into the compound they'd switched to the air conditioning chutes, these were even smaller than they'd expected, and even Erika struggled at some moments, but they all got through, and before long she was dropping into the all but abandoned command centre. Their security officer, a MACO sergeant by the name of Leo Grady, took out the only Kreosan in the room and move them to the side of the room. Erika looked around as her team I'd a thorough sweep of the room.

Erika had never been quite so relieved to get an all clear call. She knew there was still a lot they had to do. They still had to get out again, and back to the beam-out site. Not to mention they needed to help Jonathan's team if they got into trouble. Once they were all secure, with every entry locked and bolted she motioned to Hoshi to confirm they were in. The decision had been that Hoshi was going to call the ship to confirm entry, then Erika herself would call when the mission was a go. It was a silent signal to Veronica and Jon that if things weren't as expected here they could still cancel. "Sato to _Enterprise_ and _Columbia_. We're in."

"Good luck. See you soon." Came Veronica's very serious response, it was obvious that Erika's usually cheerful XO understood how serious this was. Erika couldn't focus on _Columbia_ right this moment. She needed to direct her team.

She stepped forward into the middle of the room and she felt four pairs of eyes follow her. She tried to smile, put everyone at ease, but it wasn't working. "OK. Hoshi, start working with Ensign Sun on the computer system. Myles and I will work on the energy barriers. Grady, keep an eye on our flank." Ensign Gabriella Sun was the resident computer genius on _Columbia_, she had been a prodigy and recruited into the fleet at only sixteen. She'd celebrated her 19th birthday only two weeks earlier, on her first day aboard the ship. Erika had almost not brought her along, but she needed the best. Whereas Lieutenant Kathryn Myles had been assigned from _Enterprise_. Both Jon and Malcolm Reed had vouched for her being one of the best at disabling energy based weapons and shields. That had been good enough to Erika. As the five split into the groups, Grady patrolling between the two doors and occasionally checking their ventilation shaft.

Erika translated the display as best she could for Myles, and the two of them stood staring at the screens, occasionally flicking between views, or rotating on image while another showed them what they were looking at. Erika may not have been trained to see what all this meant, but she could understand it well enough to help. Especially when Myles reached out and pointed out one particular part of the energy grid. "This looks like it controls the cells." She muttered quietly, barely loud enough that the Captain could hear it, but she looked again then nodded.

"It does." Erika looked again and squinted, trying to see a connection between the grid the cells were on, and the grid that appeared to control the gate and outer defences. "Is it just me, or is each layer on a different energy grid?" She asked, just in case she was reading it wrong. She knew that was a possibility, but if they were all on separate circuits that was going to make their job harder, and that was the last thing they needed.

However, looking at the look on Myles' face told her that maybe she was being hopeful for naught. It was a half scowl/half grimace that Erika was certain was taught to all of the crew of the Enterprise when they accepted the assignment. "It looks that way Captain." She admitted after a moment, a slight look of defeat on her face as she did. Erika was a canny enough Captain to know when someone needed to be picked up however they could be, and maybe learning that her superior thought she was the best would do the trick.

"Lieutenant Reed told me you're his best, Lieutenant. This just makes it a little harder, you'll figure it out." She smiled and squeezed her shoulder in a friendly, supportive manner. Erika went back to studying the plans for a moment, trying to see anything she could suggest, but she saw nothing. "Can you disable all the fields and leave the outside protected?" She asked, looking back to Myles, the Lieutenant had a look of intense concentration on her face, her eyes not leaving the screen for even a second.

"I think so. If I disrupt here and here." She muttered after a few minutes, Erika wondered if maybe she needed to be left alone for a few moments to formulate her plan. Erika remembered from her junior officer days that having a senior standing over your shoulder while you were trying to work could be awkward, and that wasn't going to help anyone.

With that in mind, Erika turned around and looked around the room. Thinking maybe she should talk to them about their progress, and get an update from Grady. "I'll leave the UT with you. Shout when you're ready to take the grid down." She ordered, almost over her shoulder.

"Yes ma'am." Erika tried not to take offense at the tone of relief in Myles' voice, figuring that really it was just because the Captain was leaving her alone and checking on the others. That was sometimes the harder thing to remember, she wasn't just another crewmember any longer.

Erika left Myles to her task, and walked toward Leo. Leo was the only male member of the team. The small and wiry MACO had been her first choice for security, he was maybe two inches taller than her, and they probably weighed about the same. She knew he had been one of the best at infiltration at the MACOs training academy, and she felt secure having him on her six. That was why she'd made sure Major Foyle had brought him along when she was picking her MACOs. The fact the Scot had a killer sense of humour had definitely helped. "How are things going?"

He smiled tightly at her, not really showing any joy at the situation, but clearly comfortable that for the moment the room was secure and his charges weren't in any danger. "All quiet on the western front, so to speak." The little joke was one he always repeated when he was in charge of security for a mission she was involved in. She wasn't sure how the tradition had developed, but it was one of the things that reminded her that this was her crew. "So far we've managed to avoid all the intruder alarms thanks to that virus Hoshi invaded the system with. Haven't seen any movement." He motioned around the room, particularly smiling at Hoshi Sato. For a moment Erika allowed herself to think about what Commander Tucker would say if he knew that the MACO had an eye on Hoshi, but she quickly shook it out of her mind. She had enough problems in her own relationship, she didn't need to start paying attention to other people's.

She had to admit, his proclamation that it was calm and there was no movement was helpful. She refused to used the 'quiet' word, just in case. She wanted it to stay the way it was right now though. Maybe this compound wasn't as well staffed as they had initially believed. "Let's hope it stays that way."

Just as Erika was about to turn to the other console, she was interrupted by a call, and had to turn a little faster than she'd been ready too. She ignored her spinning head and walked over to Hoshi and Gabby and looked at what they had on the screen. There was something poetic about the two biggest prodigies of this generation of Starfleet officers working together to hamper another race. Maybe not the most noble of goals, but Erika wasn't certain the Kreosans were ready for Warp technology, despite their experience with Aliens. There was a difference between knowing aliens and being ready for warp flight. It wasn't often that a species made first contact with aliens before they had warp drive, but here was the living, breathing example of it. Erika remembered reading in Jon's logs about another race that sent astronauts out to find medical help. They hadn't been ready, and neither were the Kreosans. She was shook from her thoughts by a cheerful Hoshi Sato. "We've installed the subroutines to destroy the memory banks in 20 minutes." Hoshi announced happily, and Erika was glad to see that the two young officers had clearly bonded.

"You sure they won't be able to decrypt it?" She had to ask, maybe that was the worst case scenario, the Kreosans find, decrypt and disarm the subroutine and the Starfleet crews would have to do something more drastic. It was unlikely, she was certain, but it was a possibility and one she needed to know how they'd defended it from discovery.

"I've hidden it as a reserve directory file. I doubt they'd look there for it, and once the energy fields crash they'll expect that we've tried to sabotage the computer. But because we haven't attached this to any of the important files they probably won't find it." Gabby was clearly proud of the work she'd done. Erika was about to ask what if they did, again. Just in case. "But there is a failsafe. If they try to tamper with it in any way it'll automatically delete the files without my authorising codeword."

"And that is?" She asked, trying not to sound impatient. Though she was glad that the two ensigns had thought to add a failsafe. That wasn't in the original plan she and Jonathan had spent the entire night before organising.

"I'd rather not say, Captain. I made it personal so nobody would guess." Gabby smiled sheepishly and Erika merely grimaced slightly comedically and shook her head. She didn't want to know what the 19 year old had put in their system if it was personal and something she couldn't say to her Captain.

"I'm asking no more questions. Myles, you done?" She looked over her shoulder to where she and Myles had been working a few minutes earlier. Erika was certain that by now Myles would have finished her preparations.

The triumphant smile on her face as she turned around told Erika all she needed to know. "I have control of the energy shields. Tell the Enterprise team it's time for them to dazzle us with their brilliance. When they're in I'll crash the internal grid. Then we can get down there."

"That's not the plan!" Was exclaimed from just behind Erika, and the lack of accent told her that it was most likely Hoshi had made the noise, but there was a possibility it was Gabby. Erika was willing to bet on Hoshi.

Myles wasn't at all put off by the fact that an Ensign was arguing, then Erika remembered that with Hoshi being a senior officer she had the same rights and privileges as a lieutenant. So it wasn't necessarily insubordination. Myles had clearly decided to try and fight the cause. "That's our Captain, Hoshi. If we can we need to help him."

"Captain, you can't be thinking of going and helping. It's suicide." Hoshi exclaimed, and it was obvious she hadn't even thought this was a possibility. Gabriella had a similar look of shocked horror on her face. It wasn't what either of them wanted.

"No it isn't, Captain Archer and I planned that out too. End of discussion. If we can get down to help the Enterprise team we will. If we can't we'll beam back to Columbia. Is that understood?" She was firm on that point. The mission objectives were still their priority and that meant Jon's team was critical. They needed to succeed, and if her team could help she'd make sure that they did.

"Yes ma'am." Hoshi nodded and looked down to the ground. She wasn't going to argue again, but Erika understood the fear. If she had a choice she would head back to the ship, but that was not the mission. They needed to get the hostages, and that meant they might have to help Jon's team.

"Hernandez to Archer. It's your turn now Jon, and you owe me a pizza." She teased. Remembering the bet she and Jon had once had that if they worked the same rescue mission that whoever was second into danger owed the first a pizza. She had probably made that bet when she was 25. She waited for his response quietly and grinned at the others who were clearly trying to figure out what she was saying.

"_As soon as we're back on the ship. See you down there._" She could see the smirk in his voice, and Erika didn't even really need to look around the team to see they had all caught the personal undertones of that. She wasn't going to pretend they weren't there either, because they most certainly were. Maybe after this mess was sorted she could sort out the mess that was her personal life and her relationship with Jonathan Archer.

The thing she hated most was that now they needed to wait until Jon and his team had made it to the cells in a similar covert manner to how Erika and her team had gotten in, though their disused sewage system was larger. She started pacing, trying to work off the internal worry she had that Jon's team was now working in the compound, and they were in much more danger than hers. "And now we wait." She stopped talking and looked around her team, trying to stay as confident as she'd been before. Now they were here and she saw how seemingly unprepared the Kreosans were for this situation had her worrying that this was going to be so much harder for the other team.


	6. Chapter 6

Jon had been pacing somewhat anxiously as they'd waited for news from Erika's team. He'd tried desperately not to make it obvious that he was worried, even though in this situation he would have a right. He wasn't worried in a particularly professional way, he was just worried about Erika's safety. Not really a helpful position for the senior officer to be in. When her check in came through he breathed a silent sigh of relief, then smiled at their code. A call-back to a bet they'd had when they'd been juniors on the NX programme. "_You owe me a pizza_." She was so certain of herself, and she sounded comfortable and secure where she was. That took a lot of the worry out of his mind. He didn't have time to worry now. He needed to focus.

"As soon as we're back on the ship, see you down there." With that he signed off and looked around his team. There was just he and Malcolm from the Starfleet staff. The other 6 were all MACOs. Some had been on _Enterprise_ since the mission to the Expanse, 4 of them were quite new to the ship. Jon hadn't learnt their names yet. He made a mental note to do just that. He took another look around the team and smiled.

"Is that the sign?" One of the MACOs, a sandy haired male private, asked him. The worry on his face clear, but he was also obviously getting into the headspace he needed to be in to pull off this mission. At least that's what Jon hoped. There was too much at stake here for them to fail. Not to mention Romulan ships on the way. They were adding a little extra worry to everyone.

As for Erika's call, that was the sign. The words not so much, but for the moment he was going to leave them all with the thought it was a code, rather than Erika telling him she expected a pizza when they got back to the ship. "That's the sign, you remember where we're going?" He asked, the question directed more at Trip who groaned and shook his head.

"Yes, I can only beam you down three at a time, so get in your trios." Trip's order to the MACOs had them cluster around the Starfleet officers, Malcolm and his two handlers were put on the transporter pad first, Malcolm now easily being the most transported Human. Jon wondered if he was beginning to get annoyed by it. Second went a pair of MACOs, obviously going to finish securing what was their beam-out point. Then Jon stepped up onto the middle of the pad, the two remaining MACOs falling in beside him without being given an order. Trip looked up with a serious look as he reset the co-ordinates, meeting eyes with Jon as he did. "Bring them home Captain."

"That's my job, Trip. I will." He knew Trip wasn't just talking about the Starfleet Engineers who had been held, though they were top of everyone's thoughts, but for the teams who had beamed down too. The beam out was being organised as a join effort, with probably 17 people to beam back one ship couldn't do it alone. "Don't forget to work with _Columbia_. Energise." His parting order was to remind Trip that was what he needed to do for his part of the mission.

A few seconds later Jon opened his eyes in the arid air of the Kreosan desert. He was already too warm, and he realised how at home Erika must feel here. Being brought up herself in a desert she regularly complained about how cold the ships could be. After he adjusted to the sudden change in light and temperature he studied his surroundings. They had beamed in exactly where they had expected too, outside the main compound entrance. He knew that Erika's team had left this field in place until they were ready to enter. He wanted to orient himself before he rushed into the mission. They still had a few minutes, he was sure. Erika's team would have them covered until they entered. "OK, which way? Someone mark the beam-out point so the other team can find it." He shot both orders out to different parts of the team. Two of the MACOs began marking four corners around them, while Malcolm and another MACO began scanning the space around them, trying to get a direction on the cells.

One of the MACOs who wasn't marking looked at him, a question clearly marked on their face. It was obvious that some of the unspoken parts of his and Erika's plans were confusing others. There were things they hadn't felt needed to be discussed on the ship. "Aren't they returning to their own beam site, sir?"

"No, the plan was we all meet here." He nodded, looking out over the area that had been marked out and realised they were about as ready as they could be to do this. "Signal to team 1 that we're ready for them to drop the fields." Jon watched as one of the MACOs pulled out a laser pointer and directed it toward the building they knew was the command centre and flashed it three times. He hoped that Erika and her team were watching for them.

One beat passed, then another. They collectively held their breaths, waiting for the confirmation of their arrival by the main shield dropping. "Field is down." Was called over the shoulder, and the team all fell in around one another, ready to fallout. After a few seconds Jon shook his head and looked to his tactical officer.

"Show us where we're going Malcolm?" He asked, a slight teasing lilt to his voice to keep them all in mind. It only took a few more seconds for Malcolm to point them in a direction and start walking. They fell silent as they walked, each of them taking out guards as they spotted them, making it so they couldn't get out an alert saying that Starfleet forces were on the ground.

A few metres into the compound they came to another door, it was easily wide enough for their entire team to pass through without breaking stride or clustering closer together, Jon was fairly sure he remembered that entry, and it was toward the cell block. Malcolm nodded a moment later and looked around, clearly the human biosigns were close enough that he no longer felt he needed to look at his tricorder. Jon indicated that the team look around, spreading out wider. One of the MACOs headed down a small side-corridor and called back a second later. "They're here sir."

Jon set off at a run to where the voice came from, half the MACOs followed him, Malcolm kept the other half in the main corridor, occasionally firing at a guard as they passed. Jon knelt down next to the only one in a yellow-piped uniform and turned him over, glad to see his eyes wide open. "We tried to leave when the fields dropped. Too weak." In fact, the commander was the only one to have made it out of his alcove. Two others had fallen to their knees, while the other hadn't even made a move. All were still alive.

Jon laid a hand on the commander's shoulder and smiled. "Let us help now commander." He ordered then stood up, only turning his attention back to the commander when there was a tug on the trouser leg of his uniform.

"We're engineers, Captain. Not soldiers." The commander whispered hoarsly, his voice having a hint of gravel and suppressed pain Jon hadn't noticed at first. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what had been done to these officers.

He bent down again and placed a hand back on the commander's shoulder, trying to pass some calm and confidence on to him just in the simple touch. He wanted them to know they were safe now. "Don't worry, I've brought plenty of soldiers to get us through this."

"The guards?"

"Probably busy dealing with the sabotage our other team has done." Jon was already sure that whatever plan Erika had had in mind for the sabotage, something she hadn't shared with him but that he was sure was already well underway, was more than enough to keep all the remaining guards busy.

"Thank you, Captain." Was the last whispered response from the commander before it became obvious that speaking was tiring him out. There was little chance these officers could leave this area under their own power.

"Don't mention it. Let's get you out of here, shall we?" Jon asked sarcastically and stood up again, looking to the MACOs then studying the officers who were in the alcoves still. There was only one small enough for Jon to handle, the one who hadn't even tried to move. She looked to be in the worst shape too. It was obvious all four of them needed medical attention.

"What should we do?" The 3 MACOs with him asked, and Jon motioned to the other three officers who were remaining, making sure he tried to wake the one he was dealing with up, but she didn't respond.

"Help them up. If they are too weak to stand alone, we carry them. We don't want to take too long." That was true, and probably they had already taken longer than was helpful. When he next looked around he saw all but one of the engineers was over the should of a MACO. He picked up the one he was dealing with until she was in a standing position then blinked. All of a sudden a red light bathed them, and a klaxon started sounding in the distance.

"What is that?" Was asked, maybe more than a little unnecessarily.

"Sounds like an alarm."

One of the MACOs looked around seriously, and Jon was happy to see there wasn't a trace of panic in their eyes. They were ready for this, and this is what their training was for. Malcolm, however, asked another question. "Wouldn't Captain Hernandez's team disabled the alarms."

"This might have been one they didn't know about. Isn't that the abort sign?"

"We're close enough to done to mean we won't abort, we just have to speed up." They had been hoping to keep it slow, keep to the shadows. The alarm changed everything. The Kreosans knew beyond doubt that they were here, and they would have figured out by now that they would be in the cell block. Hopefully they wouldn't have suspected Erika's team of being in the command centre, if there was any higher power, they would be on their way. "If someone can't walk pick them up and carry them. Hopefully the other team will come to our aid." He sent a silent prayer of aid to Erika, already certain her team would be well on it's way to the meet point. The original plan had been they come to their aid making sure all the guards were busy. They had hypothesised in this situation that she come quicker, he hoped that she remembered that. Right now no matter how mad she was at him, she surely had to help.

"And if they don't?" One of the younger MACOs asked, a hint of fear in his voice. Jon remembered this was his first assignment, and it wasn't the easiest of first mission. While Jon was sure his training would take over before long, for the moment allowing anyone to worry for long was not a good idea.

"Then we'd probably better pick up the pace." Jon called, looking up to the rest of his team as he lifted the smallest one back over his shoulder and started heading toward the exit. It was best they rushed out, considering the alarm the guards they hadn't already taken out were going to be descending on them. He motioned for the MACOs carrying or helping the bigger prisoners, wanting to make sure his team were out. He pulled out his phase pistol and kept his eyes moving for any signs of movement other than his team.

They rounded the corner and noticed the shield on the main door was still down. As they began running toward it Jon noticed some movement just inside the door but his shot was too late. He took the guard down in a second, but it was a second too long. He'd hit the button on the large mechanical door that covered the entry, and it was slowly lowering into place. He gauged the distance between him, at the back of the group and the door and realised that they might not have the time to reach it. Could they have given the Romulans four more prisoners.


	7. Chapter 7

The crimson glow that suddenly washed over Erika Hernandez made her realise that something had gone wrong, very wrong, for the other team. They had thought that they'd disabled every alarm in the building, but clearly they'd missed one, or it was one that hadn't been apparent until it began sounding. Either was it was a sign that Erika and her team were needed wherever Jon's team were.

This tunnel would, hopefully, lead them out just across the courtyard from where Jon's team had entered the cell block. She looked up at the ceiling of the tunnel and wondered what this was actually used for if it had the lights and klaxons of the alarm system. She took a breath to steady herself, the sudden change throwing her senses off as any change of that nature did. When she opened her eyes again she was ready to continue, but first she needed to check on the status of her team.

Looking around all four were doing something similar to what she'd just done. Closing their eyes, re-adjusting to the sudden change. Leo Grady was the first to meet Erika's eye, right at the back of the line, and gave her a thumbs up. After a few seconds all the others had given her a similar sign to show they were ready to continue. "Let's pick up the pace and make sure that Captain Archer's team aren't in too much danger." She called back to her team. She started going a little faster than she had been before, trying to get to the end of the corridor still several metres away faster than they had expected. Once she reached the end she fumbled with the opening door and rolled out. It was a good thing she did, and that she rolled on an angle to where there was a concrete-esque slab standing vertically to one side. "Shit! Weapons!" She shouted back to the team still in the tunnel, and pulled her phase pistol out, aiming it at the most obvious guards as the members of her team slipped out as well and behind this one slab.

"Are they shooting at us?" Gabriella Sun asked, obviously taking a moment to get out of the way and then frowned, looking at the Captain seriously. It seemed like a bit of a silly question, considering the phaser blasts still whistling over their heads. They were all a little out of breath, and a little stressed, so she let the ensign off.

"That would be an affirmative ensign." She looked around the area near them for where would be the best places for her to station her officers to be both protected and have a decent view of where their attackers were coming from. She spotted two decent places other than where they were all crouched now. "Get behind the cover over there. Lieutenant, go left. Sergeant, mind going with the ensign over there. Hoshi, with me." She motioned in the directions as she spoke, and nodded a second later when the officers went to their places without question. She turned around behind the slab, ready to take aim at the next target that came into her sight, and she was glad to see Hoshi mirror the movement beside her.

"Do you think Captain Archer is alright?" Hoshi asked after a few seconds, and Erika recognised the fear in her voice. _Enterprise_'s crew had been together for more than 7 years now, and Erika knew they were all close. She'd probably be afraid if her CO and friend was stuck in this situation. She was afraid, for Jonathan, but for very different reasons. This situation was actually making it hard for her to try and stay mad at him. Though for the moment, she was going to stay as focused on the mission as she could.

Hoshi looked more worried that "You've probably been in as many tough scrapes with him as I have. He'll be fine, probably just needs his butt saving again." She tried to make a joke, just to try and cheer her up. There was so much stress in her voice that Erika knew she needed to lighten the mood as best she could. Not all that easy in this situation. Hoshi still didn't look as calm as Erika had hoped. She looked seriously at Erika and groaned, it was obvious that she wasn't really in the moment right now. "Out with it ensign?"

"I never adjusted to this side of Starfleet service." She admitted quietly, as Erika took another shot at someone on the other end of the courtyard.

"It's taken me a while too, believe me." She admitted that, because fighting and shooting did not come naturally to her. It never had and probably never would.

As a final guard fell from one of the walls around the courtyard Erika looked around, searching out where the next attack was going to come from only nothing sounded. "I think that was the last of them Captain!" Leo Grady yelled, then stood up slowly, when nothing came flying at him the rest of them stood, walking over to where Erika was as she thought over their next move. While for the moment this part was quiet, the alarms were still sounding, and the lights she could see were still flashing crimson red.

"For now at least. Head to the cell block. Let's see if we can give our friends a helping hand." They crouched and ran across the courtyard, all ducking behind whatever was closest to them as whichever guards they hadn't took out yet shot in their direction. Leo's shooting was on point, as usual, and by the time they were reaching the door to the cell block they had seen what was going on. "Lieutenant, try and get that door stopped." She ordered, and pointed to Hoshi and Gabriella to help her. Grady and Erika took one look at each other then rushed in, helping take the weight of a couple of the heavier officers and moved a little quicker to the doors, once the first two were through Erika pointed in the direction of the next compound, the one that would take them to the gate where the beam-out site was. It wasn't protected by the same doors as the cell block, but she was sure that she needed to help.

"Here, take her." She heard Jon's voice, then looking back under the still-closing door she saw him run back to get a MACO who had obviously fallen. Erika began mentally cursing him as she tried to calculate the time they had, and she doubted it was enough. She motioned to them as wildly as she could as the main door was just around her head.

"Captain, it's not working." Myles shouted to her with a look of panic on her face. Hoshi's face mirrored it as they both continued trying to stop the mechanics of the door. It was obviously harder than any of them had expected, and that wasn't entirely surprising. Everything so far had seemed to go exactly as planned, and that was too easy.

"Keep trying!" She shouted back, a small note of panic beginning to overwhelm her now too. This situation was one they hadn't planned for, they hadn't even known this block had a mechanical door, let alone one that could close and possibly trap those left inside, which right now seemed to be an injured MACO and Jonathan. Nobody else. That was good, in some ways. Not in others. It was too bad the external shield was still running, otherwise they could have just beamed out, but they didn't want to leave the colony defenseless, that had been a large part of their plan.

"Jonathan. Hurry up." She shouted, not even trying to keep quiet, she couldn't over the klaxons regardless. 30 seconds later the MACO made it out, but Jon had paused, checking the corridor to see if there was anyone else. He turned again and she lost sight as the door dropped lower than her eyeline. She knelt down and prayed, hoping that she was doing the sensible thing, and reached for his arms to pull him through.


	8. Chapter 8

Erika managed to grab on to Jon's arms and she tugged, managing to get him under the door, she smiled as his feet came free only a second before the door slammed shut. The momentum Jon had coming through the door managed to pull them both to the floor where they lay for a second catching their breath before she sat up and looked at him with a grin.

"Well, that was exciting." She muttered, still laid flat on her back just looking up at the sky for a moment. Keeping her body still as she adjusted to the fact that their first obstacle had been overcome. She could hear Jon's heavy breathing beside her, telling her that he needed the moment to catch his breath too.

"Life is always unexpected when I'm involved." He replied to her a moment later, turning his head to face her in much the same way she had. They locked eyes and the smirk on his face told her that he was loving every minute of this, not that he'd ever admit to it.

"Don't I know it." She grinned. She shook her head and just looked at him a second longer, and that was all they needed. He leant forward and kissed her hard. The first time he had in a while. For a moment the entire universe receded around her and everything boiled down to her and Jon in that instant. After a second she pulled back, realising that this wasn't the most professional time to reconnect, but she couldn't find it in herself to either regret it or feel sorry they'd took that moment. "What was that?" She had to ask, those three words becoming common for the two of them.

Jon just kept looking at her for a moment then smiled slightly, next to nothing in it. It was one of those smiles she was relatively sure she was the only person alive who had received it. He took another few breaths before speaking again. "You saved me, and my team."

"I did what any Captain would have done." She was sure of that. Anyone would have done what she'd done to ensure the success of their mission. "One of my teams was in danger, one of my colleagues." She felt they needed to reestablish the professional boundary again, purely because it had been completely broken by the situation they found themselves in.

Jon just reached out and pushed a stray strand of hair from the side of her face, and Erika smiled at him again, for the first time in a while completely unsure of what he was thinking. "You went above and beyond, you could have been hurt pulling me out." He almost whispered the last, and it was clear that worry wasn't even a little bit professional.

There was something simple she could say in response to that, and that was the position he would have been in had she not managed to pull him under the door. "You would have been hurt if I hadn't." She shrugged and pushed herself to her feet, brushing the sand off her uniform as she did.

"True enough." Jon said as he squinted up at her, she was about to give him a sarcastic answer when the Lieutenant touched her arm. Erika had completely forgotten they weren't alone here. That motion brought Erika back, and reestablished the need for Captain Hernandez.

"Captains. We should go." She nodded toward the other bunker they were to escape through, the movement of their team obvious through the opening closest to them.

"Right you are lieutenant." Jon smiled in her direction, and Erika held her arm out to help him out. Smiling as he kissed her on the cheek again before they all looked round and managed to pull their weapons from their holsters. While it seemed they'd stunned most of the guards, there was always the opportunity for things not to go as planned.

Once Jon was on his feet they sprinted across the courtyard to the building the rest of their teams and the rescued prisoners were hidden in. It wasn't the most direct route to the beam out site, but it was hopefully one that offered them protection, and would not be where the Kreosans would expect them to be. Once they skidded to a halt beside their team, Jon dropped into a crouch and adopted a commanding whisper. "Did you set the charge to bring the shield down?"

Leo nodded, he'd taken over timekeeping when Erika's team had left the command centre, as it was easier for him to keep it in his mind than the rest of them. "Yes sir, we have 8 minutes." The time was a little longer than Erika would have wanted, but everything that had gone down had taken 12 minutes. That was it. It felt like it had taken much longer.

Jon scooted over to her and dropped his voice, whispering in her ear. She understood why too, he was used to making these decisions on his own, but he was making sure he included her in any decision. It was nice that he'd learnt not to count her out. "We could sit tight here, wait until _Enterprise_ and _Columbia_ can beam us out?"

She had to think only a few seconds before it was an easy answer. While staying put might give them one chance, it would probably be better for them to try and stay on plan. "Might be better to try to stick to the original plan. 8 minutes is a long time in this situation." She wasn't sure they'd be able to stay protected for another almost 10 minutes.

Jon seemed to think over her point for a moment, before nodding and squeezing her leg gently. "You're right, as usual." He admitted, then looked to the four officers they'd rescued, focusing on the commander. "Can you walk commander?"

The engineer tested his legs then started shaking his head. "No sir."

"We'll carry you and your team commander, don't worry." She smiled, motioning to the MACOs to start picking them up and carrying them. She knew this was the best, it was almost time for her to want to get back to her ship. Jon looked at them all then nodded, getting ready to go.

"Just as we rehearsed it team. Let's go." At Jon's words, Hoshi and Gabriella took point, the two of them moving ahead of the main team, checking any and all side passages. Motioning for the team to go forward when the coast was clear. Erika brought up the rear, while Jon made sure everyone else was protected in the middle. She couldn't help but worry every time she stopped to check a corridor was still clear after they passed that she would end up with potshots being taken at her.

"Wait, stop" Was hissed from in front of them, a second later and she knew it was Hoshi, making sure that the team was safe. Hoshi motioned everyone into a crouch, and Erika moved forward, joining Jon and the two ensigns at the front of the group. It only took a look from Jon for Hoshi to shake her head. "I looked around the edge like we rehearsed. There is a large group of Kreosans at our transporter site." She reported, and Erika looked back to Jon and shook her head.

"What do we do, that's the only unshielded area here?" She looked around, mentally trying to figure out how close the next area was, it was almost double the distance, probably too far away for them to get to easily. She wanted to get everyone back as quickly as they could, and there was no guarantee that they'd have a clean site at their alternate either.

Jon looked at her with a small smirk, and she had to restrain herself from rolling her eyes. "We could always fight. We need to get them back to the ship. They're looking in bad shape. Major, can you take them out?" Jon asked, searching among the MACOs for the major, it only took a second.

"Yes sir." The major answered, nodding as he looked around his officers then answering the two Captains. She was glad that he answered both of them, not just Jon. She'd had that problem before.

"Gabby, Hoshi. You two stay here, protect the Commander and his team. The rest of us are going to try to clean up the transporter area." She gave the order as it was clear everyone else was getting ready to move out. She was happy to be the last one to be moving in the direction, she wanted to make sure everyone was comfortable first.

"Yes Captain." The two ensigns replied together, then they busied themselves with the Commander and his engineers, those who were too injured to fight. Erika stopped briefly as she walked away and looked back. Hoping they could clear all this to get them back to the ship in time.

Erika sprinted back to where the MACOs were preparing for the next part of their mission. She couldn't help but look at Jonathan and shake her head at the momentary look of excitement on his face. She frowned slightly, never herself relishing going into a firefight, but she knew it was all she could do. When they were all ready they looked around seriously, she said a silent prayer to any deity that was listening then nodded to Jon. The two of them giving the order to engage.


	9. Chapter 9

Dashing out and into the open area Jon felt like this part had been inevitable. The one thing he and Erika had both wanted was that they manage to complete this mission without starting a firefight. Clearly now that wasn't going to be possible. At least not right now. They needed their transporter area clear, and the Kreosans weren't going to make that easy for them. That was pretty much the long and short of the story. He hated that it had come to this.

He watched the teams spread out among the area close to the door, taking cover wherever they could. He was still near the doorway, behind one of the bigger pieces of debris. The last one out of the door was Erika, and she ducked down next to him then sat with her back to it and looked up at him. "So much for our well thought out plan, huh?"

"We knew this was a possibility." He admitted and had to fight the urge to tell her to be careful. They were going to be sat next to each other, fighting beside each other for the moment. He didn't need to tell her, not matter how much he wanted to. He tore his eyes away from Erika, who wrestled his phase pistol off him to check the setting as he did. He let her do that while he peered over the top of his hiding place and his eyes met with the Major's, he felt his weapon pressed back into his hand as he just nodded. Giving the order for this to all get underway.

The first shot was fired, and he watched as one of the Kreosans went down. Causing a roar of anger to erupt from those around. Jon watched as they seemed to turn as one unit and face down the Human rescue team. It was a surprise for Jon to see them so active. Most of the Kreosans he'd been face to face with so far were very much apathetic to everything.

As the shots started flying Jon had to try and keep track of where his own officers were, the MACOs were darting backwards and forwards in a way Jon could barely focus on. So instead he just kept aiming. "Remember how we used to be pacifists?" Erika said after a few minutes. It was obvious that she wasn't having the same trouble with thinking and firing he was. No matter the context, that was a slightly odd comment. One he could only give a moments thought to right now.

"Vaguely, that was a long time ago." He couldn't even begin to name years, a long time seemed fair. It seemed like another lifetime ago that they'd been the hopeful Starfleet test team. The two of them and their circle of friends.

"Yeah, back before I knew how to shoot one of these." Erika laughed a little, standing up and shooting straight at one of the darting Kreosans, catching him square in the gut. Jon had to admit, that would have been a hard shot for any of them. He didn't really want to be thinking about their past right this moment, and it probably wasn't great that she was thinking about it too.

As he ducked back behind the slab he looked at her and shook his head. "Erika." He scolded lightly

"It was just an observation." She complained, and he understood what she was saying. But they couldn't really afford to be distracted just now.

"Well concentrate on what you're meant to be doing."

"Fine then." She huffed and went back to firing around the side of the slab. The two of them were both firing from different directions. He was watching one of the Kreosans aiming at them as Erika ducked. Then she started moving, and Jon's time seemed to slow down around him as he realised this one was aimed directly at Erika.

"Erika!" He shouted just an instant too late, the blue beam shot from the Kreosan weapon blended seamlessly with the blue of her uniform for a moment before Erika let out a blood-curdling scream and dropped to the floor beside him. He managed to get a shot at the one who had successfully managed to hit one of the Humans then ducked back down, leaning over Erika and seeing the blood welling up under her hand where the beam had hit her on the shoulder. He looked around for some material he could give her to put pressure on the wound, but nothing jumped out at him.

It was obvious Erika could see that he was beginning to panic slightly, and she instead moved her good arm and pressed her phase pistol into his free hand then went back to pressing on her wound, wincing loudly as she did. "I'm OK. Here."

He smiled kindly at her, wanting to give her some reassurance in only the way he could do. "How typical is it, I'm the asshole and you're the one who gets shot."

"Jonathan." She hissed with a pained smiled. Making it clear he needed to stop trying to reassure her and get on with their duty right now. He couldn't focus on her. He needed to push it to the back of his mind and do what was needed.

"Sorry. Focus." He took a breath and one last look at her and stood up, trying to remind himself that they now needed to do this to make sure that they got everyone back to the ships, including Erika.

"Captain, we're clear." One of the MACOs shouted as the last Kreosan fell and silence greeted them. Jon didn't realise how much noise they'd all been making. It probably wasn't going to help them in the long run, but it didn't matter. They'd be able to head back to their ships soon.

"Go get the hostages. We can't guarantee how long it'll stay clear." He ordered to the MACOs, and a moment later everyone and their team were filing out toward the transporter area. Only one of them headed in his direction.

"Is she OK?" Ensign Sun asked as she slid to a stop beside her Captain and pulled a handkerchief out of her pocket and put additional pressure on her shoulder. Stemming the bloodflow even further. Jon hoped that was enough. He wasn't sure how much blood Erika had lost, but it was probably more than he wanted to think about right now. After a few seconds Sun backed off and left the handkerchief on Erika's shoulder, looking to Jon as she did.

"She was talking for a moment, then she went quiet. Now she's unconscious." They couldn't stay there, that was obvious. He groaned as he picked her up, cradling her in his arms in a way he hadn't done in a long time, and the last time he'd done it she'd been unconscious and near-death too. They really needed to stop doing this. As they got to the marked out transporter area he laid Erika on the ground beside the hostages and pulled his communicator out of his pocket. "OK. _Enterprise_. Beam us up."

"The shield has extended, we can't." Came a slightly panicked reply from Trip, and Jon realised that they might have known about this issue for a few minutes. At least long enough for Trip to have started worrying. He was certain that nobody else would have picked up the tiny tick in Trip's voice, other than Hoshi, who looked to Jon with a concerned look of her own. He shook his head while simultaneously trying to silently reassure her.

"How long until the shield is brought down?" He asked, not sure who it was who had programmed the detonation now, just knowing that it was important. He had no idea how long it had taken for them to clear this area, but however long it was he was certain that the shield hadn't blown yet, so knowing that was to come was helpful. It meant hope wasn't lost.

"Providing they haven't figured out a way to stop my countdown? About 30 seconds." He replied, not even having to look at the scanner that had the countdown on it. For some reason that didn't surprise Jon coming from someone trained on Erika's ship.

"We can hold on that long." He said, closing the communicator and making sure that Erika and the hostages were all protected from the blast, which would be quite a long way from them, but it was still best to protect them, just in case. He looked down at Erika's pale face, and was glad to see that the bleeding had slowed considerably. In his mind he counted down the 30 seconds the Sergeant had indicated, and then heard the crunching beginning of the end, then there came the louder explosion, which had the Starfleet crews leaning over the injured. Jon sat up when the rushing stopped behind him, and realised his ears were ringing loudly.

"Try it now, Trip." He called into the communicator as the ringing from the destruction of the shield generator for the compound began to fade. He probably was still shouting more than was strictly necessary, but it had been a loud explosion.

"We can only bring you up in twos." Came a voice reminding them of that fact, he couldn't remember the name of _Columbia_'s engineer who was clearly the one speaking, patched into the line. While he was sure that _Columbia_'s crew would have wanted to bring up their own captain, Jon knew she'd have a better chance under Phlox's care. He was sure her own CMO was good, but he would prefer to have her on his ship. Plus he wanted to be able to check on her, which he wouldn't be able to do if she was on _Columbia_.

"Captain Hernandez is injured, Trip, take her and one of the hostages first." He ordered, stepping back from Erika's unconscious form, but was glad for a moment that he could still see her chest rising. She was still with them, that was enough to hold him as she disappeared in the haze of the transporter. The next two were beamed aboard _Columbia_, and Jon felt a little bit of his current anxiety lift with every member of the team that made it back aboard the ship safely.

Slowly but surely the team lowered in twos, alternately going to either _Enterprise_ or _Columbia_, to keep them going faster. As the last two MACOs were beamed up it was just Jon and the Major. Looking around and checking that was all of their team. Jon hoped it was Enterprise bringing them up. He wasn't sure if he could cope with having to transfer over from _Columbia_ or command from there. She was Erika's ship, he didn't think he could do it.

They spotted a team of Kreosans running in their direction. It seemed they were too far away to get a clear shot at the two Humans, something which Jon was very glad of right this moment. After seeing the way the beam ate through Erika's shoulder, he didn't want to get hit by one of them himself. He was beginning to worry about their proximity when he felt the transporter's confinement beam encase him, and he breathed a sigh of relief as the harsh sunlight of Kreosa was replaced by the artificial lighting of the C deck transporter section.

"Is everyone alright?" He asked as he stepped off the pad, his usual first question whenever he got back aboard the ship. He wanted to know if he had any problems to deal with her too.

"Some frayed nerves but we're OK. Phlox is dealing with Captain Hernandez and the two engineers." It was obvious Trip was debating what he was thinking of saying next. Jon just waited, wondering if it was serious. Then as the last two MACOs walked away it was obvious what he'd really been waiting for. He'd been waiting for them to be alone. "She looked bad Captain."

He didn't need to hear that. He had already known that Erika's injury was fairly serious. He'd seen the effect of the phaser beam on her shoulder, both before and after she'd passed out. He wasn't sure how it would heal, though he knew Erika would be back on duty as soon as she was able. Maybe it wouldn't be as bad as it looked. If anyone would be able to heal it, it would be Phlox. He could understand his friends' concern, it was never nice to see a friend in that condition. "I know, Trip. I'll go check on them all when we're underway."

"T'Pol and Veronica have already ordered our immediate departure. The Kreosan delegation left about half an hour ago." Jon was not surprised, they probably left only a few minutes after Jon and Erika's teams had beamed down to the planet. At least they got back with the minimum of casualties.

"I'll go check in with them both. You go keep an eye on your engines Trip." He clapped his friend on the shoulder and once again pushed down his fear for Erika. It didn't matter, not right now. He was the Captain and he had to ensure that the two ships were underway and on their way back to Starfleet space before he could really worry about Erika and her injury. So instead he mentally crossed his fingers and prayed she'd be alright.


	10. Chapter 10

He'd spent most of the last few hours worrying about this moment. What was he going to hear when he walked through those doors. While he was sure that Phlox would have contacted him if anything had happened, but that wasn't helping his nerves at all. So walking through there was a moment of panic before he saw that Erika was sat up happily, watching him as he walked through the doors. Almost straight away he felt all his worries melt away as he walked to her bed. There was a dressing over the wound on her shoulder, but otherwise she seemed cheerful. "You're awake." He greeted being sure to keep his voice pitched low in deference to the two other officers in a bed in Sickbay.

Erika smirked a little tiredly, and while it was clear she was OK, it was also clear she was tired. "Phlox fixed me right up." She announced and waved a hand in the direction of the Denobulan physician who was walking around sickbay doing something Jon didn't even want to guess at.

"Good. I was worried." He admitted, and couldn't resist placing a kiss in her hair as he got close to her, he was just relieved that she was alright. She grinned at him and shook her head gently. Not needing to say anything further. "You're OK?"

She nodded again and this time was a little more serious. "Phlox said I lost a lot of blood but the damage was easily repairable." Her smile faltered for a moment as she motioned to the shoulder with her good arm. "He thinks I've got another scar." She frowned,

"It can join the collection the two of us have." Jon smiled, he knew that Erika was self-conscious, at times, about the scars she'd gained over the years from her injuries, both from when she was held by the Orions and the other scars she had gained over her years of Starfleet service. She smiled at him again and lifted her hand up to stroke his cheek for a moment before bringing up the mask that was the captain in her.

"Everyone get aboard OK?" She asked, slightly louder, clearly demarking the line of professionalism and their personal conversations.

"You were the only casualty. All four of the engineers are being treated. Two here and two on _Columbia_ so as not to overtax either medbay." He gave her the short version, pretty sure she wouldn't want to hear the full report, which still boiled down to the same information.

"We're heading back to Earth?" She asked, stifling a yawn, and Jon wondered if he should have really been keeping her awake. However instead of sitting back like he'd expected she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Only swaying slightly as she did.

He put his hand on her good shoulder and applied just a touch of pressure, making sure she wasn't able to stand up. She gave him a look that was half a pathetic request to be allowed to move and half a challenge for him to keep her there. "It all went according to plan, Rike. Apart from you, that was definitely not in the plan."

"I should probably get back to _Columbia_." She said, trying to push against his hand as she did.

"I'm not ready to release you yet, Captain."

Erika sighed with a grin on her face, and before Jon could say anything about it Erika was already getting a jab out. "Should have known that's when you'd choose to pay attention to me again."

Phlox shook his head and chuckled, obviously more used to Erika's odd humour when she was injured than almost anyone else, probably excluding her own CMO. "I was always paying attention. Your wound is not closed completely yet, it is going to take at least one more treatment for that. Then I'll release you to guest quarters for 24 hours. Then I will consider releasing you back to duty." His tone gave not an inch of room, and it was clear that Erika wasn't really going to argue.

"Will I be able to attend the debriefing, at least?" Erika asked, Jon secretly wanted Phlox to say no, to say that she would still be recuperating, but he had the feeling the doctor wasn't going to say that, and he probably wouldn't have unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Oh, I think we can arrange that." Phlox agreed then started walking away, giving Jon a break to step in front of Erika again, if only to halt the inevitable, considering what he felt they needed to do next.

"Speaking of." Jon looked a few beds down to where the highest ranked of the four engineers was sat. He looked at Erika for a second then helped her down off the bed, already knowing that if he was going to speak to the engineer, she was going to come with him. "Commander." He said as they approached his bed, not wanting to surprise the engineer.

He tried to sit up straighter until Erika lifted a hand to signal it was unnecessary. "Captains. Thank you for coming to rescue us. We thought for sure we were done for." Jon took the opportunity of being stood next to Erika to place his hand on the small of her back, and was glad when she twisted her good arm around to tap his hand.

"I know that feeling Commander. You need to have your initial debriefing before we get back to Earth, we've got it on the table for the morning, providing you are all fit to attend. We'll be dropping out of Warp a little past Proxima to hold it. Then, providing all is clear, you'll be travelling home with _Columbia_, _Enterprise_ is due back out on patrol." He frown at that, hating that _Enterprise_ was going to have to leave already to head back to out on patrol, when he'd been looking forward to a trip to the interior.

The Commander didn't seem to care which ship they'd be heading back to Earth on. Really, Jon hypothesised, he was just happy to be heading home. Jon would feel the same in his situation, Jon had felt the same in his situation. "Yes sir."

"Get some sleep, Commander." Erika ordered with one of those winning smiles she always used to calm even the most stubborn of officers.

"Yes ma'am. Are my team?" He asked, and Jon exchanged a quick look with Erika. Another commanding officer, concerned about his officers.

"They're all recovering, Commander, and Starfleet has informed your families."

"Thank you." He smiled to them both, and Jon was glad to have been able to give him some good news. The Commander looked between the two of them again then stifled another yawn.

"Go to sleep." Erika patted his shoulder again with her good arm then turned back to go back to her own bed, and he wondered if she might take her own advice.

He paused for a moment then followed her back to her bed, pulling the curtain around so they had at least a modicum of privacy. They were both well aware that they could be heard and even seen through the curtains if someone was determined enough. "I'm glad we got them in time." He commented, holding her blanket up as she climbed back under, wincing as she leant back again.

"Yeah, me too. It will be interesting to hear their story tomorrow." Erika commented, and it reminded Jon that she knew how this felt.

There was something about those officers and what they were going to say that worried him though, more that they would cause a backslide for Erika than anything. It hadn't been that long since she was the one being rescued. "Do you really think you should attend this Rike?"

"Why shouldn't I?" She asked, and she didn't sound like she was challenging him. It was clearly just obvious that she wanted to know why he really thought that. It was honest, at least.

"I know you're mostly over what happened with the Orions, but do you really want to have to relive it again?" He asked, and it was a genuine question. He remembered exactly how jumpy Erika had been in the first year after the incident with the Orions, he'd laid with her for nights afterwards and heard her cry and panic. It worried him.

She just stared at him for a few seconds. Long enough for him to really worry about what she was thinking and planning for there. "It was four years ago, Jonathan." She replied after a few minutes, and it was clear that she didn't follow his reasoning at all. "But also, I think that would be the reason I should be present. I'll be OK. If it gets too much I'll excuse myself." She said firmly, and it was clear she wasn't going to allow him to tell her that she shouldn't attend this briefing. The set of her jaw so much as confirmed that.

He couldn't blame Erika for that, who knew where her own boundaries were better than she did. Certainly not him. He'd let her manage it herself. "Alright. I'll bring you a spare uniform in the morning." He made sure his voice stayed low for that comment, too. While he was sure if it had been only officers they were familiar with they wouldn't be as concerned with appearances.

"Jonathan." She called before he could walk too far away. Her turned back to the bed and smiled as she reached for his hand then kissed it gently. "Thank you for worrying about me." She squeezed his hand tightly and they were both keenly aware of the other officers who they were in easy eyeline of. He wanted to be able to tell her that he was never not worrying about her, and even show her that too, but right now that wasn't an option. Tomorrow he'd get the chance to do just that. After the briefings and when Erika was released from sickbay. They were long overdue this conversation.


	11. Chapter 11

She'd managed to sleep a little through the night, and had even managed to ignore Phlox poking at her shoulder again when she'd woken up. Jon had been hovering around her since he'd brought her a fresh uniform. He was still hovering around her as she got changed and he was making it obvious that he was worrying. "You should be careful." He muttered as they walked toward the mess, where they set up for the debriefing. They paused outside the room and she put her hand on Jon's arm.

"You should stop worrying, Phlox cleared me to attend the briefing." She looked up at him and then stepped onto her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek before hissing as she dropped back. "Yes it stings, but I'm ignoring it." She shook her head and groaned as she heard two footsteps coming behind her.

Jon could see over her shoulder, and the look on his face told her that it probably was the two they were waiting for. "Fine. Hello Commander, Admiral." He confirmed, and she grimaced a little. At least they'd come after she'd been fixed up a little. She wasn't sure she would have wanted either of them to have seen her when she was unconscious. Maybe they had, and nobody had told her. She hoped they continued not telling her if that was the case.

"Captain. Erika, you alright?"Veronica asked, almost as if she'd read Erika's mind. She just held a hand up and shook her head, hoping to portray that she wasn't really interested in being studied right now.

"Don't you start too. I have enough with him." She elbowed Jon lightly, glad that the Admiral was too busy looking along the corridor to be paying all that much attention to them.

"Shall we get this going, they in there?" Jacoby asked after a moment, looking to the door.

"The three who were cleared for it." Veronica confirmed, looking at her PADD and confirming the name of the last one. The one who had been the most badly injured. "Ensign MacCauley will have to have a full debriefing on Earth."

"She the lowest ranked?

Veronica looked down at her PADD again, and Erika smirked a little, knowing full well Veronica was only doing that for appearances. She would have memorised every detail she'd need long before they had even come over to _Enterprise_. "Yes sir. We have Commander Jack Anderson and Lieutenants Giles Roberts and Luka Djekovic."

"Do we know what they were doing?" That was the question Erika wanted answered too, but whether they'd get it was another matter entirely.

"No sir."

"Then we need to find out, don't we. Are you being our chairman Commander?" They had had the choice of commanders who could have served as chairman, but none of the others had served in that role before, so it had been easier to used Veronica for it, and leave T'Pol and Kalil in charge of the ships another few hours.

"Yes sir, Commander T'Pol is more than capable of keeping control of both ships for a few hours."

"Commander, Lieutenants. This is Admiral Jacoby, he'll be overseeing this debriefing, and Commander Fletcher will be serving as our chairman. Set questions will come from her. Myself, Captain Hernandez and Admiral Jacoby will ask any follow up questions we may have."

"Yes sir." All three of them said, nodding as they were introduced. They looked better today, which made Erika more comfortable with what they were doing here since it meant they were up to it.

They all filed into the tables and the seats they'd been assigned. Erika was glad she was in the middle, but between her two friends. It reminded her that they were here for a reason, and it wasn't anything to do with her issues.

It wasn't as easy as she'd thought to listen to the details. Sure they had been taken very differently, much more violently than she had been, but the memories it sparked were hard for her to deal with, even in the years since she'd never had to face what had happened to her quite so clearly and plainly as she was right now. The faces of those who had tormented her for a week swam in front of her eyes, and she had to try and blink them away while looking like she was paying attention.

It wasn't until Jonathan slipped his hand into hers beneath the table and entwined their fingers. Reminding her that she wasn't sat in this room listening to this testimony alone. That gave her the strength to go back to focusing on it. Pushing her own emotions right to the bottom of the pile. That was until a description of a room she understood came up. She didn't realise she was squeezing Jon's hand until a yelp sounded beside her and he leant over her.

"Do you need a break?" He asked, barely above a whisper, and he squeezed her hand back, reminding her to loosening her grip on his hand.

She thought over that for an instant, wondering if stepping outside to compose herself would be a good idea. If she did that though, she didn't think she'd be able to make herself come back inside. It would be too easy to walk away and pretend none of this was happening. "No, I'm fine."

"Captains?" the Admiral leant around Jon and asked, Veronica sitting next to Erika gave her a concerned look, but she just shook her head and tried to look calmer than she felt.

"Nothing, sir. Carry on." She waved a hand and refocused, glad that Jon kept hold of her hand tightly, she still needed that reminder that someone was there with her, otherwise she would internalise this maybe a little more than she should. She needed to keep that professional detachment.

"Thank you, the results of this debriefing will be passed along to Starfleet Command and will remain classified as ordered." Veronica said, wrapping up the debriefing, and the three engineers stood up and left quickly, all being escorted over to _Columbia_'s medical bay.

Erika stood up, really glad that it was over, she and the rest of the senior officers all stretching out. Debriefings were always long and taxing, and now she was looking forward to getting to bed for a while. Though that was probably still a while away. "Well, that was informative. Let's hope we never have to do this again."

Veronica smiled, tapping the table as she did. It was something she had always done to signal the end of the meeting, at least on her end. "Indeed. I should get back to _Columbia_ and check Kalil hasn't blown up the ship. See you soon Erika." Veronica turned almost straight away and left, and it caused Erika to wonder what had gone on with her and the Admiral.

Almost as her attention turned to him, Admiral Jacoby looked around them all with a smile and then zeroed in on her. "I should return to the ship too, will we be getting under way soon, Captain?" He asked, looking at her as he did.

"As soon as is possible Admiral, I still have some unfinished business with Captain Archer and Doctor Phlox hasn't released me back to _Columbia_ yet." She had needed the time, and she was glad that she hadn't been released yet.

"I'll go back to the ship and get ready." The admiral smiled, rubbing her arm as he passed. Erika smiled after him and shook her head. This mission had bonded them all together in a way she wouldn't have expected, and that went right up to the Admiral too.

Jon stepped back up beside her, leaning down and almost whispering in her ear. "Does this 'unfinished business' have anything to do with finally speaking?" He asked her, and she just looked up at him and nodded. She was then taken by surprise when he leant down and kissed her strongly. It was hard to stop that, but she realised she needed to.

"Yes, but not here, Jonathan." She shook her head, knowing that they definitely needed this conversation. The public place where they were was not the best place for this, even if they were alone for the moment. She kissed him again then stepped back a little, trying to convince him that it was time he move on.

"Come on." He grinned, clearly understanding what she was saying. She couldn't talk to him publicly about the things they really needed to discuss. Erika just smiled back, and let Jon guide her away. She had to thank Phlox for not releasing her to _Columbia_ yet, it gave her this opportunity, and it really was something she absolutely needed to talk about.


	12. Chapter 12

Erika had been certain, at first, that they'd speak the second they got through the doors to Jon's quarters, but how wrong she'd been. They'd ended up spending a healthy amount of time not talking at all, which had suited the jubilant 'end of mission' mood they were both in better than having this conversation straight off could have possibly allowed them. Now she'd not only had time to think, she could do it clear-headed. She sat up after an additional few minutes lounging on the bed and pulled her blues top with her. Jon just leant up on his elbow behind her, and she didn't even need to look around to sense his smirk. "So, you're ready to talk? You've been pretty pissed off with me lately."

She couldn't even deny that. She had been pissed off with him, and for good reason. Who the hell proposed at 2am after a battle? Apparently, he did. She'd even said yes, at the time. Then she'd been more pissed off at the both of them for being swept up in it. "Jon. I might be ready to talk, but I'm still not ready to marry you." She really wasn't. Marriage had never been exactly high on her lists of 'things to do before she died'. Heat of the moment acceptance. That was what she was calling it. "I think I was swept up in the moment and all the emotions."

"It was an emotional night, and an emotional time." Well, at least he conceded her point on that. She was about to say she was glad he agreed when he spoke again, moving round on the bed so he was knelt up to the side of her. "But I don't think saying yes was the wrong thing."

He didn't think it was wrong, she didn't think it was right. It might not necessarily have to be one or the other, and she was willing to have her mind changed, if Jon had the argument for doing this, then he might be in with a chance of changing her mind. A slim one. "Give me your reasons and I'll consider them."

"Well, the biggest one is that we love each other. I may have dated people when we were apart but I've always come back to you, in my mind it's always you. Whenever we're both on Earth or our ships are together we always spend time like this, just the two of us, and you can't fool me into thinking this is professional." She looked down and had to admit that he had a point there. She didn't conduct any meetings with the other captains in her quarters, let alone dimly lit quarters. "I sure as hell don't meet with Boylan or Dunsel like this, do you?" Jon seemed to read her mind.

"No. Jon-" She tried to stop him, they were all good points, points she couldn't even refute. But that didn't make it any easier, and it didn't make her any happier about having to try and refute them. Her brain just really didn't want her to admit that maybe she'd be happy.

"Look, I'm not saying we get married right away. I'm not even saying we have to get married at all if you don't want to." This time he slipped off the bed and knelt on the floor in front of her. "I'm just asking because I don't want to live another day thinking I might lose you for good."

That grabbed her attention, why would them being married, or engaged change that at all. If anything was going to happen to them, she doubted it would take their relationship status into account. 'Oh, you're engaged. Maybe I won't rupture and kill you all'. Yes. That was exactly what a warp reactor was going to think. "That wouldn't happen, Jon."

"It almost has. Twice." She didn't know what to say to that. So she just gave him a questioning look, hoping he'd expand on it without her having to ask. She kept waiting, and after a few moments of silence he chuckled and shook his head. "The first time when I was an idiot and didn't try hard enough to keep you, and the second when you were held by the Orions and I was sure you wouldn't make it. I'm not making it a hat-trick."

"Jonathan." She started, but was stopped before she'd even finished saying his name. A finger on her lips to just let him continue.

"Just please, Erika, don't say no. Not to me, not now. Not after this mission and everything we did." He dropped his hand and then sat back up on the bed beside her. "Let's have something extra to celebrate."

She closed her eyes for a moment and was almost certain she was going to have second thoughts about this. But Jon had made a good case, and she had to admit, it would be nice to have a definitive name for their relationship. They had lacked that for so long, and it was a nice idea. So she took a deep breath and was sure that she was doing the right thing and had been all along. "OK."

"What?" Jon said clearly slightly taken aback. Maybe he hadn't thought he could change her mind, but he'd succeeded.

"I said OK. You've sold me."

"Great." He grinned and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her neck as he did. While she appreciated that he was excited now. She really needed to start thinking about going back to her ship.

"Jon." She tried to distract him after a second, but realised very very quickly he wasn't stopping. "Jonathan." She tried again, tugging on his hair a little and she just got a grunt in response as he kissed her shoulder. She wasn't really going to complain about it. "I need to go back to _Columbia_."

"You don't, Phlox still hasn't cleared you. So you can stay here."

"This is a bad idea."

"No it isn't." He shook his head, bringing a glass of water over and handing to her. As she took a drink it was obvious he still had a point to make. "We've been together on this mission for a week and you've been so angry with me I haven't even been able to do anything, barely able to speak."

"We were hardly ever alone, Jon." That didn't seem to be changing his mind at all as he slipped back behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist with a smile.

"I know, so it still meant I wanted more time with you." She looked to him and shook her head a little. She could understand though, because she had wanted any time alone with him too. Though she'd mostly wanted to shout at him, a lot. Probably not the same reason he did. "So please stay, make up for it."

"Fine." She gave in and leant back against him again, and turned her head to kiss him. "I'll call Veronica and say we're staying here until tomorrow." She stopped for a few minutes to think. Jon nuzzled his head into her neck as she was thinking. He kept distracting her as he did, making it harder for her to think of what she should or could say to Veronica. Even if her XO knew exactly why Erika was staying on _Enterprise_, and Veronica would know, she'd need an official reason for the ships log. That was when she realised what Jon had said a minute earlier. "Phlox hasn't cleared me."

Jon looked off thinking for a few moments, obviously thinking why she'd be repeating his point from before. He was right, Phlox hadn't cleared her, and couldn't clear her until she next went to Sickbay. If she didn't do that until the morning, he couldn't clear her until the morning. "He can't, until he sees you." Jon thought on it, and all Erika could do was smile.

"Exactly." She grinned, and smiled as Jonathan wrapped his arms around and pulled her back into the bed, long before she had chance to call through to _Columbia_. It was easy for them to make an excuse to spend a little more time together. They both really needed this time together. It wasn't often, but it was worth it, and after this mission they both needed more.


End file.
